


The BoneFire Family

by APlaceToEscape



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Accidental Baby Acquisition, Adopted Sibling Relationship, Big Brother Grillby, Family, Fanart, Gen, Good W. D. Gaster, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Parent W. D. Gaster, Pre-Accident W. D. Gaster, Pre-Undertale, Protective Grillby, SOUL Mechanics (Undertale), Scientist W. D. Gaster, Sibling Bonding, Tags May Change, The Underground (Undertale), Younger Brother W. D. Gaster
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-13
Updated: 2018-03-13
Packaged: 2018-12-27 11:12:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 35
Words: 15,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12079914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/APlaceToEscape/pseuds/APlaceToEscape
Summary: Sometimes a family is a snarky fire elemental, an overworked skeleton scientist, and a baby grown in a jar.Living in the Underground has never been easy for anyone and hope is hard to come by, but whatever happens they’ll have each other in the end.





	1. Chapter 1

  
  
[**Ask The BoneFire Family**](https://ask-the-bonefire-family.tumblr.com/)  
  
Living in the Underground, the brothers Grillby and Tenebris "Wingdings" Gaster are here to answer any questions you might have for them.  


* * *

  
If you like Gaster and Grillby or like misfit/found family antics, use the link below the pic and check out my new ask blog I just started for these two!  
Shoot them an ask or two if you'd like!  
  
(i've never been very speedy with replies but i'll do my best and i hope it's fun for everyone!)  
(and yes i haven't been able to write anything for my other fic...that's why i did this. forgive me...)


	2. [[A little thing to get us started...]]

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


* * *

[[And so it begins...]]

**_[Feel free to send in questions!](https://ask-the-bonefire-family.tumblr.com/) _ **


	3. Chapter 3

* * *

[[the admin forgot to come up with some reason for how and why you and these two can communicate…so i guess we can just say “because magic”? unless i come up with something better in the future…]]   
  
 _ **[Ask The Bonefire Family](https://ask-the-bonefire-family.tumblr.com)**_

[[guess i'll upload all updates here too when i can :P don't see why not]]


	4. Chapter 4

  
  
[[spent the past couple days trying to doodle my science boy in a new way. i think i like drawing him like this better than how i was drawing him before…]]  
  
[[and yeah sorry this isn't really an update. just a doodle. there's nothing to update yet exactly...so [feel free to send asks](https://ask-the-bonefire-family.tumblr.com), y'all! :D)


	5. [[Months Ago...]]

"Are you impressed?"   
  
Grillby fought back a yawn, squinting his bleary eyes at the metallic object hovering in the middle of the living room floor, buzzing and bleeping.    
  
"Your silence speaks for itself!" Tenebris beamed in the way he always did when his inventions or experiments were involved. "You're truly amazed, I can tell!"   
  
It stood about a foot high, ignoring the few inches it floated above the ground. A bulb on its lower, spherical portion blinked intermittently while what appeared to be a small satellite dish rotated this way and that on the opposite side. In the middle of the sphere, something that looked like it could be a mechanical eye contracted and expanded as it "looked" about the room. A static filled screen on the upper half blinked with different images and bits of text, much of it either too quick to make sense of or appearing to be entirely nonsensical.    
  
Just like the entire contraption itself appeared to be. Nonsense.   


But dammit all if Grillby couldn't help but do his best to humor him, whether he understood what he was doing or not.    
  
The machine's "eye" focused on him and emitted a series of beeps and buzzes.   
  
"It's...yes. It's really...something.” He finally managed, shifting uncomfortably under the machine’s unblinking stare. “Tenebris, what exactly am I looking at?"   
  
“I’m glad you asked!”   
  
Oh good lord…   
  
“I created a device that could potentially help me in researching and analyzing possible alternate dimensions and realities without the risk of physically interacting with them and doing potential damage to fabric of reality, or realities, while also possibly sending information out to these dimensions as well and-”   
  
Grillby found himself nodding along but barely comprehending most of what his brother was telling him. He was just hoping he would wrap up before he fell asleep standing up. Why couldn’t he have just waited until morning to drag him out of bed to show him this?   
  
“-the data to be collected from this, if successful, could be a massive breakthrough! In theory anyway. I’m calling it the Dimensional Analysis Bot.”   
  
Tenebris’ eye lights were practically sparkling with enthusiasm and pride. Grillby, however, could barely keep his own eyes open.   
  
"Yes that's...yeah. Good job, Dings. Very nice.... May I go back to sleep now please?"

* * *

 

[[So yeah this is my attempt to create a semi-plausible reason for how you and these two can communicate. Maybe silly. Idk. But it’s something!]]   
  
**[[{Feel free to input your questions for D.A.B to transmit!}]](https://ask-the-bonefire-family.tumblr.com/ask) **   



	6. Expository Experiment

  
  
Grillby only stared at the dimly glowing jar at first, not quite sure what he was looking at.

The faint light emanating from it seemed to be coming from the oddly shaped, gray-ish lump resting at the bottom. It didn’t look like much of anything, certainly nothing important, and yet it somehow made him feel...uneasy.

“Tenebris...what is that?”

The lanky skeleton sank into a chair at the table, whatever nervous energy that had been driving him before now clearly spent and leaving him looking exhausted. “Experiment 007B...”

“And experiment 007B is...what exactly?”

“I’m....I’m not sure anymore.”

Grillby failed to hold back an exasperated groan as he settled heavily into his own dining chair, massaging the sides of his head. “Dings, I really cannot do the whole ‘cryptic intellectual’ thing right now. It’s been a long day and I just-“

“Our newest series of experiments involved researching the souls of humans and monsters and how to possibly alter their natures in some way. I know,” he held up a hand, as if sensing Grillby was about to protest an upcoming stream of incomprehensible jargon, “I know, I know. I’ll spare you the details. It’s...not important now anyway.”

Tenebris paused, looking at the jar again before continuing. “Our hope was to find a way to perhaps...alter the nature of monster souls to mimic that of humans, thereby granting us the ability to bypass the Barrier sooner without having to wait for more humans to lose their way and wind up down here. Well...it wasn’t working with the ways we tried it at first but then....it was Dr. River’s idea, and it was dangerous so we attempted it without official approval....I didn’t think it would....I was sure it wouldn’t be....”

His eye lights, now glowing faintly yellow, shrank to dim pinpricks that quivered in his dark sockets. The bony fingers of one hand clacked rapidly against the table while the others held the top of the jar in a death grip. He was shaking, the rattling of his bones only slightly muffled by his thick sweater.

“Dings? Dings, hey.” Grillby grabbed the tapping hand firmly in one of his own. “Dings, look at me. Just....tell me what’s going on. I can’t help if I don’t know.” He hadn’t seen his brother look this shaken in some time.

After too long of a moment, Tenebris’ eye lights steadied and he seemed to be shaking a bit less. His free hand refused to release its hold on the jar, however.

The yellow glow faded from his eyes as he looked at the jar and its contents again. “It- it was supposed to just be a- a copy. A fake. Just...I don’t know. Just not...this!”

“What are you talking about?”

“It was meant to be something of a...well, an imitation I suppose. Of either Dr. River or myself. Our souls, anyway. It was meant to be something tangible to manipulate and experiment on without major health or safety risk to the subject, since there wouldn’t be a living monster subject to put at risk to begin with.”

“So...that’s what this is?” Grillby looked at the object in the jar again. It did, for the most part, look the way monster souls did when in their visible, corporeal forms. This thing looked a bit....off, however. Lopsided, dull, and frail even. Certainly not like any soul he could remember seeing. So it would make sense that it was just an “imitation” as Tenebris had said. “What exactly is the problem then?”

Tenebris shook his head, pulling his hand out of Grillby’s hold. “No. No no no. It’s not. It’s not that at all. It’s...” He inhaled a shuddering, unnecessary breath. “It’s...it’s a real soul, Grillby. It’s a real, new, monster soul and I don’t think I can, in good conscience, continue with this experiment any longer.”

 

...Oh.

 

* * *

 

**[Ask The BoneFire Family](https://ask-the-bonefire-family.tumblr.com/) **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ((Sometimes a family can be a sentient, glorified candle, his cryptic skeleton brother, and a soul in a jar))
> 
> ((Anyway...  
> Yes, the writing is crappy. I wrote it quickly but I'm overall ok with it. I just really didn’t want this blog/AU/story to die so HERE WE ARE.
> 
> Ok content is better than no content at all, right? Right??
> 
> My computer kicked the bucket and I have no idea when I’ll be able to do drawn responses again (I have a plan for a new computer in the works, but my tablet is already outdated so when I have a new computer I’ll need to save up for a new tablet as well. So it may be a while.
> 
> In the meantime, I can try my best at written responses. I may alternate between classic, mini-fic style responses like this or maybe even text/script/chat style if I feel I need to. I just don’t want to let this ask blog idea die like all my others.
> 
> Anyway. I hope this doesn’t disappoint too much and that it at least seems a little intriguing!
> 
> Send asks to the blog if you want!! :D ))


	7. Soulbound and Determined

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ((Y’all ready for some poorly constructed, garbage headcanons???))

 

The heavy silence lasted for far too long and was only broken when the pot on the stove, long forgotten, began to smoke.

Grillby sprinted to remove the pot from the stove and douse its charred contents in the kitchen sink, staring down at it as he tried to collect his thoughts.

“So...what now?” He asked, finally turning around again. “If it’s a real soul...what are you going to do with it? Why bring it here? And anyway, what exactly makes you so sure it’s a real soul and not a fake like you wanted?”

His brother gazed at the jar for a long moment before sighing. “Our plan was to hopefully find a way to infuse existing monster souls with the power of human souls... I didn’t want to risk innocent lives by tampering with the essence of their souls, even though they were willing volunteers. However, Dr. River was willing to...make those sacrifices.

“So this was Plan B. A bit of a compromise for each of us. We’d find a way to use our souls, or rather imitations of our souls, until we found a safe solution. If we found one at all. We tried several times without any sign of progress, and this was meant to be the last attempt. If nothing developed, River was going to scrap the project and we would return to experimenting as usual in order to not waste time on it. Earlier today I was relieved we may have made a breakthrough. But then....”

Tenebris folded his arms tightly and stared down at the table. “I can’t. I can’t let River know how it turned out. I can’t let them go through with experimenting on it, or abusing this outcome to produce more as just....spare parts. Or worse. I don’t know I just....can’t.”

Silence fell over the room once more. Eventually, Grillby returned to his seat at the table.

“I think I understand what you’re getting at here.” He eyed the jar again, folding his arms as well. “But that still doesn’t explain how you’re so certain it’s real. You could be worrying over nothing.”

“I’m not.”

“How are you sure?”

Tenebris was silent again for a long moment before letting out a harsh chuckle. “You’re going to think I’ve gone mad.”

“That already happened a long time ago, didn’t it?”

“This isn’t a time for your jokes.”

“And this isn’t a time for your secrets. Yet here we are.”

They held each other’s gaze for a long moment before Tenebris sighed once again. “It’s... I think I’m...bound to it...”

“I- hold on...” Grillby shook his head. “You’re what now?”

“I told you you’d just think I was crazy!”

“I don’t think that! I’m just.... You’re bound to it? Are you saying that-“

“That when I said we made a real, new, monster soul I meant it was a real, new, monster soul.”

“As in...as in a...” His gaze was drawn to the jar again.

It had been years since any new monster souls had come to be, so the sight of children was almost a rare one lately. It seemed the more years passed in the Underground, the less common they were. The cause wasn’t unknown though. Hopelessness, fear, apathy, and the like hung thick over the Underground and, as a result, the emotional conditions of their souls had become too harsh for anything new to take root and sprout. That wasn’t to say it never happened at all, just not commonly as it used to.

But this...this wasn’t the same. This wasn’t normal in the slightest. Souls always appeared spontaneously to their parents, to some extent, in one way or another. It was never like this...it was never something you could make happen.

But if he could believe his brother, and he did, he had to, then this was real. And not only was it real....

“You’re bound to it.” Grillby said again, now a statement rather than a question.

Tenebris nodded.

“So it’s...it’s your-“

“Don’t!” His brother cut in, a slight note of panic in his voice. “Don’t say it...just... I’m still trying to accept that part myself. I’m not sure I can. But....I think you get what I’m trying to say, at least.”

“....Holy shit, Dings.” Grillby rubbed a hand across his face. He almost wondered if he was dreaming, but he was sure his mind couldn’t come up with something as astounding as this. “Sorry just...holy shit...”

”I know...”

It was difficult not to keep staring at the jar now with this sudden realization of what it was. “Why not just tell Dr. River? I’m sure they would understand.”

“I’m...not so sure. I have this feeling and I just.... It’s better if they don’t know. I can just say the experiment failed and we’ll go back to our main research. No harm done.”

“I mean...ok. Sure. If that’s what you want. But....how long do you really expect to hide it? It’s not like you can keep a kid in a jar-“

“Well of course I wouldn’t keep it in the jar! Good lord, must you be such a smart ass right now?”

“Sorry. But, really, what are you going to do? It’s not going to be a little nightlight-in-a-jar forever. I say this as lovingly as I can but do you know how difficult you were sometimes as a child? And if this one is anything like you then you’re going to be in for quite a ride when-“

“Grillby, I said _don’t_.” Tenebris propped his elbows on the table and held his skull between his hands. “Just...if we must, we’ll cross that bridge. But in all honesty, I’m not sure it’s going to make it that long. Just looking at it...you can see it’s not stable. I’ve seen monsters with abnormal, skewed statistics before...but not like this. I don’t see how this one would survive long, and certainly not long enough to manifest its own body. If it does happen to survive, against all odds, then and only then will I tackle that particular problem. But for now...for now just leave it be.”

He laid a hand on the top of the jar once more. “I brought it here because, at the very least, I can give it a safe, comfortable home for a short time before it....passes on. Rather than let it live out it’s days as just some test subject. Is that...is that ridiculous of me?”

“...No.” Grillby laid a hand over the top of the jar as well. “No. That makes perfect sense. It’s the right thing to do.”

Tenebris offered a halfhearted smile which Grillby returned and for a while they sat in a much less oppressive silence than before.

“I am sorry about your dinner.”

“It’s fine. I’ve got enough to digest now anyway.”

“...Ok. That one was actually pretty good.”

“I aim to please, Ding Dong.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the family, mysterious jar-baby. 
> 
> And ayyyyy two days in a row?? Someone alert the media!!
> 
> Again, I hope the story is decent/intriguing enough to make up for the lackluster writing :P It’s a hobby not a career so this is probably peak performance for me lol. 
> 
> Anyway, if it was too awkwardly written to make sense of the whole “where monster souls come from” (old how else to phrase it) section....well, you can always ask the good ol’ Science Boy or the Fire Boy to elaborate on it for you xP
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!!
> 
> Sorry for my garbage headcanons!!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ((how ‘bout a 3 for 1 special?))

  
  
Tenebris paused as he buttoned up his shirt, preparing to leave for work for the day, and his bony brow furrowed a bit when he read the text on the screen. “That’s certainly quite a question...”

He finished dressing as he tried to find the best way to phrase his response. “Dr. River, or Advisor River as they are more commonly known, is a very old advisor to King Asgore. They’ve been around much longer than Grillby or I, longer than most monsters down here most likely. I don’t know much about them or how they came to be so....prominent in our world, the world of monsters. They oversee most of the Barrier work and research that is done, hence the ‘doctor’ title which is more honorary than anything. Myself and a team of other scientists, researches, and engineers do most everything ourselves, they just see that we carry out our tasks according to Asgore’s wishes, should he have any. Asgore doesn’t look into our work too often himself, so I suppose that’s why River has inserted themselves into our work. In order to keep the king informed.”

Fully prepared for work, Tenebris turned to leave the room, giving the faintly glowing jar that now occupied his bedside table a quick once over. The soul within hadn’t changed for better or worse in the past few days since bringing it home, the pulses of life he felt from it through their bond stayed just barely perceptible.

Maybe that was a good thing, maybe not. Either way, it was becoming harder not to feel hopeful for the poor thing, that it might pull through somehow.

“I’m sorry. Lost my train of though for a moment. Anyway, back to River... They are quite reclusive, seemingly impossible to read, and fairly intimidating to be around. But they seem more determined than anyone to obtain the power necessary to break the Barrier, so they keep the momentum going on all efforts related to that. It’s admirable, I suppose, although it borders on the....obsessive, at times. Almost frighteningly so. Or perhaps I could be reading too much into things. Either way, the bottom line is they are the king’s right hand advisor and we wouldn’t have known where to start with breaking the barrier if not for them. So I do my best not pass judgement on them. Clearly they want the best for our people.”

 

* * *

 

Grillby tilted his head upward, thinking deeply for several moments before offering slight shrug.

“I’m not sure I have a favorite. I just enjoy cooking. Whatever I can make that others enjoy is what I like most about it.”

“That,” Tenebris cut in from the next room, “and there isn’t exactly a wide variety of things to cook down here.”

“Yes, there’s also that...”

 

* * *

 

Grillby cocked his head, trying to make sense of the question that appeared on the screen.

“The...what now? Wrong number song?”

There was a sound of muffled static from the machine and then a slightly distorted sound blared loudly. It sounded like[ music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9MeAwR_mpo), the lyrics barely audible behind the speakers’ distorted buzzing, but after looping three times in a row it was just annoying noise.

“Tenebris, I think your little contraption is glitching out again!”

“I swear I thought I fixed that problem already!”

* * *

 

**[Ask The BoneFire Family](https://ask-the-bonefire-family.tumblr.com/) **

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ((Three relatively short replies for your viewing pleasure :D))


	9. [{Transmission Received}]

**W.D:** “See?! I told you this would work!!”

**G:** “It could just be picking up some random radio signals. Or it could just be the…robot…thing.”

**W.D:** “….Must you always be such a pessimist?”

**G:** “I’m not! I’m just saying, you know, don’t rule out other…more likely possibilities. That’s all.”

**W.D:** “Fine, fine.”

**G:** “….Anyway…alternate dimensions or not, I’m still not used to this thing just “talking” out of the blue all the time. It freaks me out…”

**W.D:** *ahem* “To answer your question, whoever you are, yes we can hear you.”

* * *

 

[ **Ask The BoneFire Family** ](https://ask-the-bonefire-family.tumblr.com)

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ((all I’ve got currently :P))


	10. In The Dark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ((i couldn’t sleep, i’m stressed, and i don’t feel great so here’s a quick unprompted chapter i scrawled down that is hopefully nice and maybe drives the plot forward somewhat))

Grillby flicked the light switch up and down in vain, sighing. He had been let off work early, barely an hour after clocking in, due to yet another power failure as there wasn’t much good staying open when everyone would be keeping as close to home as possible in the extreme dark of the Underground.

He was fortunate enough to not only give off warm light from his own body, but to be able to see fairly easily in the dark as well. Getting around wasn’t as troublesome for him as it was for many other monsters. He had in fact made a few detours to help a diner customer and a coworker to their homes on his way back.

Now there was just the matter of waiting at home for the power to return. Hopefully soon...if at all.

This also meant that Tenebris likely wouldn’t be home for quite some time.

The power reactor was one of his brother’s responsibilities. When he wasn’t helping to find way to improve it, he was busy with helping to repair it when it failed them.

Grillby headed for the bedroom, giving the hall light switch a halfhearted flick as he passed it. He figured he should start getting an overnight bag together to take to Tenebris. If the power wasn’t back within a couple hours that likely meant he wouldn’t be coming home for at least a day or two.

A faint, bluish light from his brother’s bedside table caught him off guard for a moment before he remembered the soul jar that resided there.

Right. Still not quite used to that.

He stared at it for a long moment before turning away to pack up the overnight bag, which didn’t take long. He tossed a clean outfit, a blanket, and a pillow inside a duffel bag and set it beside Tenebris’ bed.

With nothing else to do his attention was quickly drawn to the jar again.

It didn’t seem like it had changed at all in the nearly four weeks it had been here. It had maintained its scrawny, frail appearance and certainly hadn’t grown at all as far as he had noticed.

It was definitely a sickly looking little thing, but it was nearly at the halfway point in its development. If it was following the normal growth cycle souls usually did, anyway. But assuming it was, Grillby was beginning to think it might actually survive somehow, despite the abnormal way it came to be. Not to mention the misfortune of being housed in a jar rather than remaining with a parent as was normally the case. There was no telling how that was going to affect it overall.

He had asked Tenebris about it before, why it had to be contained the way it was or if there was some better way to keep it, and had received a rather confusing answer about its physical instability and the medicinal solution in the jar that seemed to be helping to keep it alive so far.

So, for it’s own sake, that’s where it would stay until one of its two possible outcomes was reached.

Even so...it didn’t seem right.

Grillby sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed and tentatively laid a hand on the side of the jar, the glass was cool to the touch.

“There’s not much we can do for you, I guess. I wish there was. But, if even your da-... if even Dings doesn’t have any better ideas then I guess this is the best we can offer. Hopefully it’s enough...”

He didn’t expect any sort of response and he didn’t get one. He continued talking anyway.

“I feel bad about you just...being left here like this every day. That doesn’t seem fair. But then again I’m not sure if you’re even aware of it at all. I don’t know how this works...well, how you work. I know how it normally would. But you’re not exactly...following those rules. So I don’t know. I don’t think Dings knows either. We’re all in the dark here it seems.”

He paused again and smirked.

“I guess that was a pun, given the current power situation. I wasn’t really trying though so don’t blame me for how terrible it was.... Anyway, as I was saying...I wish there was more we could do for you. Whether or not you’re strong enough to make it in the end...I just hope you’re happy. That’s a lot to ask for down here, I know. But...Tenebris and I...we’ve made each other happy here. So it’s possible. It really is. And, if you can hang on and stay with us, I know we could make you happy here too.”

Another pause.

“...Right. Ok. That’s all I have right now. I don’t even know where I was going with this so I’ll-“

The small soul twitched suddenly and Grillby nearly jumped in surprise as it floated to the side of the jar.

A warm, tingling sensation ran up his arm as the little thing made contact with the glass where his hand rested. A faint sense of contentment suddenly washed over him and he blinked, too stunned to move or even say anything else.

He didn’t think he needed to though. It seemed like he’d gotten something across to it somehow. Hopefully.

“We’ll take care of you,” he rubbed his thumb across the glass, “I promise.”


	11. Inspired Necessity

**[[**  I would like to know What inspired Gaster to  
follow Science and Grillby to go into owning  
a bar. any role models orinspirational moments?  **]]**

“That’s a bit of a tough question.” Tenebris tapped his fingers on the table, thinking back. “I’m not sure it was inspiration so much as a necessity. Or rather, I concluded it was the most logical step in my attempt to reach the best potential outcome…. I guess I should explain more clearly.

“I have something of a rare ability, though I use that term lightly in this case as I have very little control over it. It is often referred to as ‘Foresight’. I have been able to foresee potential outcomes for various things. I can’t necessarily tell what outcome will occur…but from the outcomes I perceive I have attempted to aim for the ones that seem most favorable, depending on the situation and cause. For example, when I was very young, I foresaw several outcomes to….well…escaping the Underground. I figured that I would be able to do more to achieve one of these outcomes if I were directly involved with researching the Barrier and the study magic and souls overall. I think that, so far, this assumption has been correct as I have personally ‘seen’ that some of those outcomes are still possible.

“Having this ability, or condition, however you may see it, I felt that this was more of a responsibility than anything. I do enjoy my work, but I can’t deny that I’ll be glad when it’s all over. Reaching the surface will definitely be worth it. Right, Grillby?”

Grillby clenched his fist slightly and turned his attention to the robot’s transmission screen, hoping for a subject change.

He read over the text again. “I’m….sorry? I don’t own a bar. Not sure where you got that idea. I mean, I’ve always wanted to run my own food place of some kind eventually. I just don’t see that happening anytime soon. Anyway, I have a decent enough job at the neighborhood diner. It’s a nice place, and I always used to go there with…. Well….I used to go there when I was a child. So working there is fine for now.”


	12. Lifespan

“I’m not sure there really are specific factors.” Tenebris said. “There is a definite difference in lifespan between the varied types of monster, and there are really too many to classify them all by specific types anyway, but there doesn’t appear to be any real concrete reason for how or why. The only main similarity seems to be that most monsters typically live longer than the average human, according to what we know about them. At least, non-magical humans.”

“Elementals, like Grillby, tend to live quite a long time, relative to non-magic humans. Although they are among the most fragile physically. Then there are monster like myself, often refers to as necrotypes. Skeletons, ghouls, and variations thereof, live about the same as elementals but are more physically durable. At least usually.

“And as I said there are really too many variations among monsters to classify them all by certain types, but an umbrella term used for a wide variety of monsters is ‘humanoid’. There isn’t any real connection to humans themselves aside from the basic body shape and such, anatomically they vary in size and so on. Grillby and I would fall into that category as well. I’d say overall that us ‘humanoid’ monsters live the longest. Usually anywhere between 100-400 or so years. It’s not an exact measurement for anyone of course. There could be various unforeseen factors that affect any monsters lifespan from illness or some such thing. There is also evidence that monsters with emotional soul-bonds to others tend to live the longest of all. Likewise, those without bonds to anyone may not live as long.

“Out of all monsters though, the ones who live longest are those whose souls are in the Greater category. Greater monsters, sometimes called ‘Boss’ monsters, age normally until they reach maturity but then stop unless they have a child and could be virtually immortal as a result. This is something I and others before me have studied but we haven’t been able to find an actual cause for this. Some things just don’t have answers it seems.

“And as for the Barrier….it’s been quite a long time. Before Grillby and I were even alive for sure. It’s been over 200 years now. Probably closer to 300. I’m not sure anyone knows the exact length of time. It’s….not exactly something we’ve been keen on keeping track of. It can be disheartening to think about.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (( Huzzah and Apologies for long-winded headcanon/exposition! ^_^ ))


	13. Press (X) to Doubt

Grillby paused for a moment, not sure how to respond.

“I…I know the feeling. Believe me. But…” he sighed, “it’s not like they’ve done anything…wrong. And, anyway, it really is just a feeling. They’ve been around longer than I have and the king apparently trusts them. I may not agree with the current plan of collecting souls and so forth…but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they don’t have everyone’s best interests at heart, right?


	14. Guilt

“Well, in this state, a developing soul is only able to communicate strictly through emotions.” Tenebris set aside the power reactor diagrams he had brought home to look over and, instead, turned his attention to the transmission on the static-filled screen.

“And even then that is limited to those who have a parental- ….a direct bond with it. Or those allowed to have very close or direct physical contact with it. So he isn’t able to communicate with you through the device like Grillby and I can.”

 

“I-?! Excuse m-  _Dadster_?!” Tenebris sputtered, jumping to his feet.

Grillby failed to hold back a snicker. “That’s pretty clever. I’ll have to remember to use that.”

“No! No you won’t! And anyway- I mean honestly- There’s no way I’m- I am definitely not a- This nonsense needs to stop!”

Grillby shook his head, watching his brother fiddling anxiously with the crooked pair of glasses he wore.

“Don’t you think it’s time to drop the denial? I mean we’ve got, what, barely four weeks left?”

“That’s…I’ve already told you, several times, there’s a chance it won’t happen…”

“Yeah but, hey, Mister Foresight. Guess what? That means there’s a chance it will. So you kind of need to accept either outcome could happen already. And personally,” Grillby nodded toward the jar sitting beside them on the table, “I think this is one resilient kid you’ve got. He’s really hanging in there. So I think he’s got a much better chance than you’re wanting to…. Dings?”

Tenebris was hugging himself, trembling where he stood as silvery tears began to leak from his tightly shut eye sockets.

“Oh dammit. Tenebris…hey.” Grillby jumped to his side, grabbing him firmly by the shoulders. “I- I’m sorry. I was just… What’s wrong? Talk to me.”

It took several moments of barely stifled sobbing before his brother choked out a response.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t have a clue! So you’re right. Maybe he could be fine but…” he looked at the soul jar and held a hand to his chest, grasping the fabric of his sweater. “But maybe he won’t! And I don’t know what to do! He’s…he’s in pain. All the time. I don’t know how to fix it, or if I can at all! I just… Grillby, what if it doesn’t stop? What if it keeps him from being able to form a body and he just….fizzles out? What if he can form a body but he’s too weak to survive? He could die in seconds! Days! What if he does survive but I can’t help him and he has to live like this, always in pain or sick? Because of me! What if he hates me?! If anything happens to him it’s all my fault and what if- what if I’m- what if he’s- what if-“

“Wingdings!” Grillby took his brother’s skull between his hands and forced him to look him in the eye. “Dings, breathe.”

“I d- I don’t need to, I don’t have a- any lungs-“

“Breathe and listen to me.”

Moments later he finally obeyed and Grillby continued. “It’s going to be ok.”

“Y- you don’t know that!”

“I don’t know what will happen but I know it’s going to be ok.”

“But I-“

“Whatever happens, we’re family. I’m always going to be here for you. So I know, good or bad, we have each other. And as long as we do, we’ll be ok.”

Tenebris sniffled before leaning in to rest his head on Grillby’s shoulder, and Grillby responded by wrapping him in a firm hug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (( not exactly thrilled with how i wrote this one but iT'S DONE AND THAT MEANS PROGRESS SO YAY!! ))


	15. < r e d a c t e d >

**[[ Fascinating, are there ways to trigger this ability or apply it to short-term events like combat, keeping experiments safe, a piece of machinery just about to break in the CORE? ]]**

**W.D:** “Well...I’ve never actually been in a combat situation. Not directly. So I don’t know how that might affect my ability or whether it could be used for short-term events in those cases. And I have tried to use it in those other instances. But again, it only seems to reveal long-term effects to me. That is still very helpful though, in the case of the Core especially. For example, right now I am quite certain it will fail again and have several possibilities as to why. So, I know that my best course of action is to focus mainly on the components directly related to those failure possibilities. Once I’ve done this, and have eliminated all the problems I can, then I know it’s much more likely I’ve set us on course to end up in the potential future where it won’t break down at all. If I keep up this cycle, then eventually the more preferable futures will outnumber the...less preferable ones. It may seem tedious and unhelpful but considering I can actually foresee potential futures somewhat then I’m able to keep tabs on which futures are becoming more or less probable.

”Aside from all that though, it isn’t always controllable. It typically happens without any intention on my part. I have been able to trigger it myself on a few occasions but it takes a great deal of energy to do and just as much to make it stop... It leaves me very drained afterwards. I’d rather not use it intentionally. The times it happens on its own seems to be useful enough. I figure if that’s that way it happens, then those are the things I’m meant to know about and that’s enough for me.”

 

* * *

   **[[ Sorry for < ~~redacted~~ > Grillby, in < ~~redacted~~ > the < ~~redacted~~ > have already < ~~redacted~~ > and < ~~redacted~~ >, it's best not to know more about why or how. ]]**

 ***** It seems D.A.B had some trouble transmitting this message.

 ***** It might be for the best though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (( Happy New Year, everyone! :D ))


	16. Timekeeping

**[[ Fair point about not wanting to keep track of the time, plus it's amazing you have an idea of time without the common natural clocks like seasons, moon phases or the position of the sun/moon. What do you use as a time-keeper? sorry if I was depressing there, I have a strong feeling that things will turn out good in the end. ]]**

**G:** “Well, apparently, when monsterkind was first sealed down here, nobody made any attempts to keep track of the time. Maybe it had something to do with denial of the situation or just not thinking it was necessary, that it wouldn’t last forever. I don’t know.

“Eventually though, after quite some time had passed, our people accepted this was going to be our life for however long. So timekeeping, among other things, was reintroduced to hopefully restore us to our normal way of living.”

 **W.D:** “There wasn’t a way to determine exactly how much time had passed between then and the creation of the Barrier unfortunately. So that portion of time remains uncertain. I believe it wasn’t until the son of the king and queen came along that truly exact timekeeping was instated again. We went back to having hours, days and nights, weeks, months, and years.”

 **G:** “The terms ‘day’ and ‘night’ are used pretty loosely...but it definitely helps to have at least something so...normal to hang onto.”

 **W.D:** “Yes. That’s true. What I really meant before wasn’t that being aware of the passage of time was depressing- though I can’t speak for everyone of course -but rather that thinking about how long monsterkind has been sealed behind the Barrier is the disheartening thing. Having something like weeks or hours to know that time actually continues on....that actually isn’t bad at all. Not always.”

 **G:** “I’m sure our clocks and calendars don’t line up with those on the surface. But at least we have something.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (( a fitting chapter to bring in the New Year ^_^ ))


	17. What’s In A Name?

**[[ how does skeleton naming work, is it the font that you are named after or is it just a crazy coincidence that fonts match skeleton names like Wing Dings and Tenibris or whilst it is Gaster, Aster is a font. ]]**

* * *

 

 **G:** “Actually, the ‘Wingdings’ and ‘Tenebris’ bit was my doing. When they found him as a child....well....”

 **W.D:** “I wasn’t completely right in the head.”

 **G:** “....”

 **W.D:** “It’s ok. Go on.”

 **G:** “There isn’t any rule to naming skeletons. It’s more that there’s a typical tradition among monsters as a whole to give children names that have some kind of solid meaning behind them.

“I was still at the children’s home when Dings was brought there. He only spoke in nonsensical, gibberish phrases, when he spoke at all. Every now and then he slipped various Latin words in. And even that took me ages to figure out. He would scribble jumbled nonsense down as well, but it was all in symbols we couldn’t decipher. He would often just sit and stare into space, ignore anything and everything happening around him, etc.

“The caretakers at the home....well, his odd behavior didn’t seem to sit well with them. They took to calling him Gaster. It was simply a more name-like alteration of the word ‘ghastly’ and you can probably figure out why they felt the meaning behind that fit him.”

 **W.D:** “It did grow on me. I guess maybe because that was the only name I had at that time and didn’t have a say. Even so, it really didn’t bother me then and doesn’t bother me now. Honest.”

 **G:** “Well, it bothered me. It wasn’t chosen for any reason other than they didn’t like you and wanted to alienate you even more.

“When I finally left the children’s home, not too long after that, I took him with me. They didn’t have any problem with that of course. I started calling him ‘Tenebris’ because that was one of those Latin words he said more often than others.

“After some time I eventually discovered, like you said, that the symbols he scribbled in were an old human typing font call ‘Wingdings’. So I started calling him that also, more as a nickname but it stuck as well.”

 **W.D:** “I definitely prefer the names Grillby chose for me. But I really don’t mind Gaster at all. It truly doesn’t bother me. But....I won’t deny that I chose to be called ‘Dr. Gaster’ professionally out of a bit of spite towards those that had wanted to use it as a way to put me down.”

 **G:** “So, I guess to answer your question, it seems like in my brother’s case it’s just a coincidence that his name happened to be related to fonts.”

 **W.D:** “Seems like a pretty unique way to come up with names though. If there are many different, interesting fonts at least.”


	18. * Reassure

**[[ * sobs * I wish I could be there to support you, Gaster, you are clearly a responsible person and I can see how caring you are, no matter what happens, you are the perfect father figure. ]]**

* * *

 

**W.D:** *nervously* “O-oh... Thank you. I mean....I honestly think you’re opinion of me is a bit high in this regard but....thank you nonetheless.”


	19. Timekeeping (Revisited)

**[[ Interesting, what I meant was what you used as a basis, is time based on magic events like frames of how long it takes for a bullet to react, and cause INV, and using some number like 60 because it is divisible by so much to build them up into seconds, minutes hours or something, or do you use the growth of a plant, or light or gravity to determine time? I do know that miners used candles or lanterns as clocks, and I once heard of the idea of using the kings sleep cycle as the day/night cycle as it was constant from him being healthy. ]]**

* * *

 

**W.D:** “Ooh I see. Well, we already had the normal ways of keeping time from the surface; sixty seconds in a minute, sixty minutes in an hour, etc. But monsters simply neglected to keep track of the time passing at first and it just became difficult to say whether it had been half a day or two days or however long. It happens when there’s no visible change in the ‘sky’ to signify day and night. Time just lost its meaning for a while.

“When the desire to tell time returned, I believe it may have been the luminous crystals in the various caverns that helped most of all at first.”

“Originally they were just used for light sources, before there were any attempts to generate electricity throughout the Underground. It was discovered that, when fully charged with magical energy, a crystal could remain lit for about an hour. So for a while, people would charge crystals hourly and, since we knew already that a full day and night cycle was 24 hours, then 24 crystal charges equaled about one 24 hour day.

“This was rather tedious though, as I’m sure you can imagine, and eventually, when resources were gathered to do so, the royal family had a clock tower built in the main center of the city. That was the first one in the Underground to accurately display the time and its passing for everyone who wanted it. And as time went on people built their own clocks, broken clocks from the dump were repaired, and so on and everyone synchronized them with the clock tower. So it’s pretty standard timekeeping, seconds, minutes, and hours, it just took a while to get it all reestablished to the way it had been on the surface.

“After that, it was easy to keep track of seven days being a week, four weeks being a month, twelve months being a year, and so on. Not very mystical or exciting really. Just run of the mill clocks and calendars here.”


	20. Chapter 20

_[[ Oh, I am still sorry they chose the name Gaster for that reason, I would have done it because "G" is a cool letter and it rhymes with master caster. It's fascinating to think Wing Dings is old in your world, whilst ding bats have been around for like a century here, Wing Dings came about only 24 years ago. ]]_

* * *

 

**W.D:** That certainly is fascinating. But I’m not surprised that, provided we are communicating from different realities or dimensions, our timelines are not necessarily running parallel to each other.

**G:** ....What he said. We knew that pretty much all fonts or typefaces were from the Pre-War era. Our war ‘ended’ around 2013, when our kind was sealed down here. And, as we said before, that was a few centuries ago for us now. So, yeah, that would make pretty much any existing font old.

 

 

* * *

 

**[Ask The BoneFire Family](ask-the-bonefire-family.tumblr.com) **

(( feel free to send asks to the blog or put them in the comments here! ^_^ ))

 


	21. Great Responsibility...

“Hmm...” Tenebris drummed his fingers on the table. “Well...I don’t talk about it often but I suppose what I fear most is... Failing. There’s just...so much depending on my work. Our quality of life down here, our freedom-“

Grillby frowned, setting his mug down a bit harder than he intended. “Ok. Stop. Tenebris, I don’t know how many times I need to remind you that all of this isn’t your responsibility.”

“Well it has to be somebody’s.”

“But that ‘somebody’ doesn’t have to be you. You can’t keep doing this to yourself, it’s not healthy and it’s not right!”

Tenebris looked like he was about counter but instead closed his eyes and inhaled deeply before abruptly standing up. “I’m not arguing about this again.”

“Dings-“

“No. I’m already late for work, and so are you. I’ll be back tonight. And I do not want to talk about this anymore.”

He was out the door, slamming it shut behind him, before Grillby could get another word out.

Grillby groaned and sank down in his chair, casting a brief glance at the robotic device and the text that blinked on its screen. “...Guess I never answered the question, huh?”

He looked toward the front door for a moment, resting a hand on top of the soul jar beside him.

“Dings has been my only family since we were both young... I don’t think I would be here right now without him. What I fear most...is losing my brother, and being alone again...”

* * *

[ **_Ask The BoneFire Family_ ** ](ask-the-bonefire-family.tumblr.com)

 


	22. ((Years ago.....))

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ((I got really a bad mental/writer’s block tryin to answer a question so I wrote this to try to unstick myself.....  
> I don’t think it worked but at least this is something instead of nothing since it’s been a whole month since the last update...
> 
> So yeah anyway this is a flashback to when Grillby and Gaster were kids! Hopefully it doesn’t confuse anyone now that I’ve said that :P))

The rough-looking door swung inward, and light from his flickering body dimly illuminated the way into the dark apartment before them.

Grillby heaved a sigh of relief and exhaustion as he took his first cautious steps inside, hobbled slightly by the small skeleton clinging to his pant leg.

It was as he expected it to be. Cold, dark, and bare of anything that would hint at this place being any sort of home.

This was a much lower level of the city, so of course it was all rather rundown. Most places down here were. And it was likely that, if there had been anything left behind by the previous owner, it would have been quickly scavenged by other needy tenants in the apartment complex.

But it wasn’t the children’s home, so that was something of a step up at least.

They had left with little more than the clothes on their backs and a few minor essentials he’d been able to keep.

It would be enough. He could manage the rest on his own.

Grillby shut the front door and, after prying the young child’s arms from his leg and taking him by the hand instead, continued further into their new home.

He found his way to another, smaller, empty room at the end of a narrow hall. A single, pane-less window looked out on the nearly pitch-black city outside, the only lights coming from scatterings of the dim, luminary crystal lanterns on walls and street corners below.

He would have to go buy or scavenge some of his own to keep around after Lights Out curfews or blackouts, mainly for the younger boy’s sake as he had no means to see in the dark when he wasn’t around.

For now it didn’t matter though. They just needed to rest.

Grillby managed to pry himself free from the boy’s grasp once again and gave him the lumpy pillow from his pack to cling to instead while he laid out the threadbare bedroll and blanket.

“Ok...that’ll have to do for now.” He sank down onto the makeshift bed and motioned for the boy to do the same, covering them both with the blanket once they were situated as comfortably as possible.

The skeleton boy huddled close to his chest, head tucked beneath Grillby’s chin and his small, spindly arms still hugging the pillow tightly.

Grillby was far too tired to care that he had to use his own arm for a pillow as a result. Within moments, he had already drifted off into a, thankfully, dreamless sleep.

* * *

[ **Ask The BoneFire Family** ](ask-the-bonefire-family.tumblr.com)


	23. How they won The War....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ((I’m sorry this is probably all very jumbled/incoherent I just needed to answer this because I’ve been in a writing slump and it’s just been sitting there taunting me....
> 
> Anyway, hope you’re ready for more long-winded, headcanon exposition jargon!!))

_[[ How did humans win the war? you have teleportation, infinite magic bullets, some monsters have foresight, telekinesis, longer life spans, better healing, way more HP, you don't have billions of stupid diseases, in fact, I don't know if it's true in your world but I remember reading a librarby book that said monsters don't get sick, how did they cheat their way to victory? You don't have to answer if this is a sore topic, sorry. ]]_

* * *

 “Magic is not the limitless all-powerful thing you assume it to be.

“I suppose I should give you all some basic monster physiology, since you seem to be unaware of how it works.”

“Monsters are made up of magic, but this isn’t necessarily something that makes them more powerful. In fact it can vary greatly from monster to monster. Humans have their own different biological components, but it’s been found that even humans, being physically stronger and more stable, aren’t always that way. There are many weaknesses among them, and they are not the same from human to human.

“I may not be an expert in human biology and anatomy but I know enough to make this analogy at least. Humans have many different factors that keep their bodies functioning, many more than monsters have. One thing that is of extreme importance is blood. The closest thing monsters have to this is what we call ‘mana’. It’s essentially just magic, but it’s more like magic concentrated and in a physical, one might even say biological, state. This is what makes up our physical forms and is how we stay alive.

“If you were to cut a human, they would bleed. The same thing happens to monsters but it’s not blood, it’s the concentrated mana that more or less holds us together.

“So monsters can be injured in the same way humans can be and have their own range or varied weaknesses, but our biggest weakness is that mana relies on our emotional as well as our physical well-being. That is something that puts us at a much greater disadvantage when it comes to weakness.

“Again, it can vary from monster to monster or even human to human, but while even negative emotions can bolster a human and drive them to press on in the face of almost certain failure, negative emotions are more likely to hinder a monster instead. Like I’ve said, this isn’t the case with every human or every monster but it is the most common outcome based on my studies.

“Humans, unlike monsters, don’t rely on pure mana or emotions to stay alive or to even come into existence in the first place. Another reason humans outnumbered us. So while their emotional state does have an effect on their physical well-being at times, it isn’t dependent on it. Following so far?”

“Although it seems we have greater abilities than humans, monsters are simply not as....physically stable.

“We also may not have the same illnesses or diseases that humans do, but we can still become sick in our own ways based on how different emotions in extreme circumstances affect us.

“Emotions are fickle things, and when your physical state is tied so directly to them, it can put you at a great disadvantage. This is where the humans had us outmatched.

“They won the war because, when it came down to it, they were stronger physically and stronger in numbers.

“I believe the only humans and monsters that could be most equally matched would be the ‘boss’ monsters and the human mages. Boss monsters are closer to humans physically and not so reliant on emotions while human mages are closer to monsters in that mana makes up a great deal of their life force and is then of course tied to their emotional state.

“That isn’t relevant to your question exactly, but I thought it important to note that as well.

“Anyway, I wouldn’t say there was any “cheating” their way to victory, especially considering there happened to be humans aiding our side as well. They were simply just stronger than us. I hope this cleared a few things up for you and I apologize if I lost you anywhere amidst my explanations.”


	24. Chapter 24

**W.D:** *drinking coffee* Mmm… I love coffee. It’s been quite a while since I’ve had any. It’s pretty hard to come by down here.

And…thank you. I know Grillby worries… He’s my brother after all, and I do tend to overwork myself at times…. but I have good reason to. It’s necessary, but I’m not sure he understands that…

 

[[ _So that means that a monster could get really sick just from being stressed or otherwise emotionally drained?? *gives Tenebris even more coffee/tea* Take care of yourself!!! You have a child now!!_ ]]

**W.D:** *nearly chokes on his coffee* I- ahem… right.

I assure you I’m taking care of myself just fine, thank you.

But you’re correct. Stress and emotional strain can cause various illnesses. The type of emotional strain determines what illness it is.

Frenzy, Delirium, and Melancholia, to name a few of the quite serious ones. There is also Mana Fatigue, which is a common one and not too serious. I believe a human equivalent to it would be a “cold” or “flu”.

 

[[  _Also what exactly are boss monsters? Where did they come from?_  ]]

**W.D:** Boss monsters, as they are called informally, are monsters who’s souls have greater strength than an average monster.

Their formal title is Greater monster, while the average monster is formally referred to as Lesser.

They live the longest out of any monster, their lifespan and magical potency is only matched by that of human mages. They appear to be virtually immortal, as far as studies have lead us to believe, and have much more physical resilience as well compared to the average, Lesser monsters.

The reason for this is that, apparently, once they’ve reached maturity they will not continue to age until they have a child. Studies have been inconclusive so there is no answer for why exactly this is the case.

In summary, their souls are far more powerful than an average monster’s. Their strength is closer to that of humans, or human mages more likely.

A Greater monster’s children will always be Greater monsters, but Lesser monsters have been known to produce Greater monster children on occasion. So there isn’t any real answer for where they come from.

Unfortunately, magic and souls are not an exact science. There is much we don’t know and likely never will.


	25. Chapter 25

[[  _How long will it take tell we know if your babybones will be stable and become a little monster_ ]]

 **  
W.D:** It- He is…fine, as far as I’ve been able to tell. He hasn’t gotten any worse. But…he hasn’t gotten better. It seems the most I’ve been able to do is keep him stable and nothing more.

That’s one of the main issues with how he is, how he came to be. The bond we have isn’t how it should be with….with a parent-child bond.  
  
Normally there would be something of a physical bond as well, and if that were the case I wonder if he might improve more. At the very least maybe I would have had a better sense of why exactly he isn’t improving. I don’t know.  
  
As it is, it seems the bond is strictly emotional, more or less. Normally that’s all that remains of the parent-child bond after the soul has developed a body, when the physical bond is severed.

…..I guess I really have no idea what to do in this situation. None of this is normal so I have no real way to know what will happen or what to do…  
  
But….he’s still here. That’s the most surprising thing.  
  
I can’t say if he will improve after his body forms or if he will survive that part of the process at all…. I suppose, if he follows the typical maturation time frame of normal souls, we’ll know within a couple weeks now.


	26. Chapter 26

_[[ When a monster body forms, is it done in stages like a digestive system to get more magic, then some protection and so on or is it all at once or something else? also are there any other STATS than HP, ATK, DEF, SPEED, INV and LV/EXP, specifically ones that might affect how a child grows or what abilities might be available to them. ]]_

* * *

 

**W.D:** Yes, that particular part happens all at once.

The process of soul and infant monster development is typically three separate stages.

The first is before the soul actually manifests physically, the Pre-Germination stage, which has been determined to be anywhere from one month to several.

During that period of time if the right environmental and emotional conditions are present and maintained consistently then a new soul will be likely to manifest within the soul of its parent.

The second stage is about two months. During that time the newly existing soul builds up a store of magic from the emotional and physical bond with its host parent and, if a second parent is involved, from them as well through the bond the parents have with each other. If there is only one parent it can be more taxing on their mana levels but otherwise nothing is different.

At the end of this stage the young soul will separate from the parent’s soul and the body will manifest. This begins the third stage of monster infant development which is about a year. During this stage the young monster is still able to take in magical energy from its parent or parents, or another guardian should the need arise. This is their sole...pun not intended...source of energy or mana intake for their first year. Afterwards, they are able to take in magical energy through mana-based foods and such like all monsters.

As for statistics like you mentioned, there are a few we are able to monitor in our kind such as HP, LV, mana/energy levels, and of course emotional states. I’m not familiar with the others so I don’t believe they are legitimate terminology. At least not any that I’m aware of.


	27. Chapter 27

** _[[ does the king or hospital keep records of everyones stats or are they kept private? ]]_ **  

* * *

**W.D:** Yes, health records are typically kept at the hospital if a monster has gone there for any reason.


	28. Chapter 28

**[[** _My question is:_  
_how common are orphan monsters and without a parent to bond o are there any problems that you had to face, sorry if this strikes a nerve._ **]]**

* * *

  **G:** I think there were more orphans durning the first generation or so in the Underground than there are now. The first were, of course, children of those who fought and died in the war...and there were certainly many of them. After that, all of the orphans were those born down here. So compared to back then, orphans aren’t as common as they were....though that isn’t entirely a good thing.

**W.D:** Right. You see, the reason there aren’t as many orphans now as there were in the beginning is that not as many monster children have been born in recent generations. As stated before, monster reproduction is dependent greatly on maintaining a healthy emotional state. Down here, that isn’t often easy to do. Many monster don’t expect to be able to produce children at all because of this, and then if they do....they may simply fall into despair, a common cause of death down here, having to see them grow up in these dreadful conditions....

**G:** Or they just abandon them for whatever selfish reasons they have.

**W.D:** Grillby-

**G:** Fortunately, I was well past the age of bond-dependency so I didn’t have any problems or complications, physically at least , after they were gone. Once a monster is about a year old it’s possible for them to survive without a parent. Before that it’s close to impossible. So, no, I was fine. I don’t know about Dings’ parents or their situation, but he was about four or five when he showed up at the children’s home so he was old enough as well.

**W.D:** Well, yes, surviving without a parent is highly probable after the first year but there can be other adverse effects from growing up without the parent or parents who had the initial bond with you in the first place-

**G:** And maybe it just doesn’t matter and we don’t need to talk about this right now.

**W.D:** All right I was just-

**G:** Dings.

**W.D:** ....So! Change of subject then!

* * *

**[[** _Also, have you been getting enough sleep Grilbs? you seem to be staying up just as much as Gaster when you're cooking or helping look after the new SOUL and you can't keep BURNING the candle at both ends. *ba dum tss*_ **]]**

* * *

**G:** ....*snicker*

**W.D:** Okay. That was a pretty good one. I’ll give you that.

**G:** To answer your question though...we could both do with more sleep, that’s true. Dings more than myself though.

**W.D:** I’m fine!

**G:** If anyone’s working themselves to the bone it’s him.

**W.D:** Oh I definitely haven’t heard that one a million times before-

**G:** He has the Core and other duties to deal with almost around the clock and, when he’s not here, I need to look after the soul like you said. I actually had to take this week off specifically for that since, well, it could happen any day now and somebody should be here when it does.


	29. Chapter 29

**[[** _How does monster naming work? most names seem to be very fitting like Grillby for worlds best cook, Wing Dings for a mysterious genius who uses his hands a lot or a powerful sounding name like Asgore for the king, is it coincidence or do all monsters get names based on who they are, either for simplicity, tradition or magical protection?_ **]]**

* * *

**G:** Well naming itself doesn’t have any special rules. Most parents name their children something that has some kind of meaning behind it, either from the name’s origin or meaning itself or personal meaning to the parents. It’s possible it ends up just being a coincidence that names seem fitting for most monsters.

Actually....Grillby is what I started calling myself after leaving the children’s home. I didn’t feel like I could keep going by the name I had been given by my parents....

**W.D:** ....It’s a good name.

**G:** ......

**W.D:** You may change your mind about it one day.

**G:** ....Ok.

**W.D:** *sigh* ....Anyway. There aren’t really rules for naming. Sometimes there’s a solid meaning behind it, like Grillby said. Other times it may just be a name that the parents like the sound of. So, there isn’t a way that naming work, it varies from monster to monster.

* * *

 

**[[** _What do you do once the body first forms? does the new monster immediately need a new energy source or direct physical contact fro emotional bonds or anything, is it anything us askers can help with from beyond the void?_ **]]**

* * *

**W.D:** Well normally, since the soul and parent would be with each other at all times prior to their body manifesting anyway, they would of course be in close enough proximity to each other for the new monster to already be receiving energy from a parent. So in a normal situation, it wouldn’t even be a concern. There’s no chance of the new monster not having a parent be with them immediately, they would already be together when it happened. So at that point there’s nothing especially specific or different that needs to be done. They already have emotional contact with their parent and are certainly physically close enough to continue receiving energy from them as before.

But....this is different. Extremely. Nothing like this has ever happened so I have no information to go on, only guesses really.

As it is now, this soul hasn’t been receiving any energy from me. So, for all intents and purposes...he should not be viable. But he is.

It could be that the stabilization solution he’s kept in currently is the reason he’s alive right now, as it does contain mana among other substances. So I suppose it’s possible that he’s been able to draw mana energy from that and sustain himself that way. But if that’s the case, I’ll need to figure out some way to administer it to him after he manifests a body as I doubt applying it externally would work the way that it has been so far.

....I honestly have no idea what I’m going to do....

So, unfortunately, there’s nothing that can be done to help us with this. We’ll just....need to wait and see.


	30. Chapter 30

**[[**   _since it is a formula could it be bottle fed to him or made into ghost food to be absorbed over time? if it causes virtually no damage is there some way to inject monsters with food when they can't eat, like the IV drip or insulin pump? Sorry if these ideas don't make sense or ignore basic biology, I'm just trying the shotgun approach._ **]]**

* * *

 

**W.D:** No, those are all good ideas. I suppose great minds think alike, as they say. I’ve been going over them myself for a while.

It isn’t formula as in a food. It’s a chemical solution I came up with. I don’t believe it can be ingested. If he is the same type of monster as I am then anything that isn’t an edible substance specifically made or altered to be mana-absorbable would not react the same way or at all since we, having no real digestive systems like humans or some other monsters, ingest food differently and are often limited in what we can have. That is a whole other topic and project for another time, however.

I’ve settled on having to go the injection route. It can be tricky but I researched and found a technique that could have potential to be very successful. I’ve tried it on myself recently, obviously not using the stabilizer solution made for the soul since that could be dangerous, and it appears to be the best and only sure answer to this problem.

As you can imagine, being skeletal and therefore made of mostly solid, magic-constructed bones, an injection works differently than it would for most other beings that are more....soft, I suppose. And given that injections aren’t a common occurrence anyway among our kind when treating illness or injury I had to look to human techniques and medicine to figure it out.

Apparently, humans at some point developed a way to safely drill and inject directly into the bone of a patient when necessary.

It doesn’t sound at all pleasant, and it really isn’t, but as I stated I have attempted this technique on myself and it is indeed safe and seems to work the same way it might on a human. It helps that their skeletal structure and that of skeleton monsters is very similar, even if it’s not identical.

So, as far as I can tell right now, I have found the solution for this problem if it should come to that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ((hhhhhhhh I made myself research injections and IVs and insulin pumps and IO injections even though in have a damn phobia of needles and I haaaaaaaated it but I am a slave to researching things for realism simply for the sake of then bending that realism to fit my fictional universes aaaaandhakfbkabdka
> 
> anyway yeah. IO injections. Helluva thing. Sorry [insert monster baby’s name here] >_< ))


	31. Alive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ((Hhhhh I feel like maybe this sucks but I had to get it written eventually so I hope you all enjoy!!)

Sleep usually came easy to him after a long day of work, but lately he’d been spending most nights lying awake, unable to quiet his worried and restless mind.

This night in particular was the worst so far, it seemed.

He had been tossing and turning and staring at the ceiling for hours now, his thoughts whirling around so much he felt like his head was just full of loud static.

“Damn it all....” Throwing his blankets aside he hauled himself out of bed. What was the point of lying there if he wasn’t going to get any sleep?

He wandered down the hall and, as he entered the apartment’s sitting room, found Grillby on the sofa where he’d left him several hours before. He had apparently dozed off in the meantime, his blanket askew and halfway falling off of him with one arm dangling off the side of the sofa and resting limply on the soul-jar beside it. Once again, Grillby had offered to stay up to watch for any changes so his brother could get some sleep, even though he was exhausted himself from doing just that for the past few days.

A pang of guilt struck Tenebris at the sight before him and he hugged himself tightly.

His brother had always been something of a natural when it came to caring for and nurturing others. He’d taken in and raised him when it wasn’t even his responsibility to do so, after all. And now he had more than willingly stepped in without a second thought to fill the gap and care for this unexpected addition to the family while Tenebris barely even acknowledged it as a reality.

He could say all he liked that it was his work keeping him away and that may have been true, but he certainly didn’t try to be around as much as before. He didn’t give the soul any more thought or attention than was absolutely necessary, and yet he was the one responsible for him coming into existence in the first place. At best he had done all he could to try and prolong his survival in a clinical and guarded way that a doctor might to any number of patients, at worst he had simply been keeping his distance and waiting for what he assumed was the inevitable end of the soul’s short life.

What was wrong with him?

Quietly as he could, he crept over and adjusted the blanket to fully cover Grillby again and sat down on the floor with his back to the sofa.

He carefully slid the jar away from Grillby’s loose grasp and set it in his lap. The lopsided-looking little soul inside blinked a bit brighter and floated against the glass where he had one of his hands, sending fluttering impressions of excitement and happiness through their bond, along with the usual, persistent ache that didn’t appear to ever stop. This only served to worsen his guilt.

“You shouldn’t be so happy to see me...” He chuckled halfheartedly. “I’m surprised you even know who I am at this point... Grillby’s been more like a father to you than I have, after all.”

The soul, of course, didn’t understand his words at all and only persisted in brushing against his own soul with varying impressions of joy and contentment but now laced slightly with concern or worry, perhaps detecting Tenebris’ negative mood.

He sighed. “I’m sorry. I’m just.... I’ve been pretty terrible so far, haven’t I? I mean...you didn’t ask for this. If you’d had the choice, anyone else would have been a much better option for raising you. So I guess we owe a lot to Grillby... I know I do already. I don’t think I’d be here right now without him. Maybe you wouldn’t be either.

“I know you don’t know what I’m saying, but...I do want to say that I’m sorry for being this way. For....avoiding you, I suppose. But...I think I know why I’ve been so guarded with you. Well, I think I knew from the beginning, I just didn’t admit it.

“I’m scared. I’m scared for you. You shouldn’t have been possible, and I didn’t think you would survive for a week let alone this long. But you have and now I’m not sure whether I’m more scared that you won’t make it or more scared that you will. I...I didn’t _want_ you to die, I still don’t, but.... This world, the Underground....I never wanted to bring a child into this.

“Children don’t deserve to be trapped down here. Nobody does...but I guess there’s not very much we can do about that, except maybe improving our current state of living a bit more. But that’s still a poor substitute for actual freedom, isn’t it? Or maybe.... maybe I’m going about things wrong. There’s a lot down here that can be improved....It’s just that I’ve been so sure I’ll find a way to get us to the surface! I feel it! And I don’t want to give up on that... but I suppose that doesn’t mean we can’t try to have better lives down here, in the meantime.”

Tenebris sighed. “I don’t know where I was going with this... I guess....I’m just sorry that I haven’t given you the attention I should. I’m sorry that I brought you into this mess. I’m sorry that I can’t promise you’ll be okay. I’m sorry that I’m so afraid of everything that comes along with you. Watching you grow up a captive, part of another generation without freedom, having to see you live with the consequences my actions, how you were created, may have on you, and worst of all....I’m afraid of losing you. I’m afraid to lose you because I know...I know that will be worse than anything else. Stars above, I just want to be able to give you a good life! And I don’t think I’m capable of that at all!”

He didn’t notice the movement of the formerly sleeping figure sliding down to sit beside him until a pair of arms wrapped around him, pulling him into a warm embrace.

They sat in silence for quiet some until Tenebris spoke again. “I didn’t want to wake you. I’m sorry.”

“Mm. ‘S fine...” Grillby yawned. “You couldn’t sleep, huh?”

“No. I’ve just...I have a lot on my mind right now.”

“So I heard.”

“...I’m sorry.”

“Stop apologizing or I’ll punch you.”

“Sor- ...Okay.”

“....You wanna talk about it?”

“Not at the moment, no.”

Grillby sighed and leaned back against the sofa, keeping one are around Tenebris’ shoulders. “I guess there’s not a lot I can say to make you feel better, huh?”

“Probably not...”

“....It’s all going to be okay, Dings.”

He wanted to protest. His brother always said that. He hadn’t been wrong so far....but for somebody without even a bit of Foresight it was quiet a bold statement to make.

So, he prepared to retaliate but then paused, brow bone furrowing as he peered closer at the jar in his lap.

At first he’d thought the soul’s glow had become somewhat fainter as often happened when returning to his semi-dormant, almost sleep-like state. But upon closer inspection he could see that a small cloud of gray-white particles had accumulated around it, slightly dimming the light. Almost as if absorbing the soul into itself as it became a more solid looking mass before his eyes.

It lacked any clear shape at first but was steadily growing and changing, developing a more definable form and features as it did so.

Wait.... Good lord was this really happening? Right now?!

“...Grillby...” The sudden anxiety was clear in his voice as he held up the jar, unable to muster anymore words.

Grillby blinked sleepily, silent for a moment, before his eyes widened in realization. “Oh gods!”

At that moment, a light flashed brightly from within the jar and then faded, leaving a clear view of a rather small, now fully formed skeletal figure lying on the bottom of the glass container.

Both Grillby and Tenebris sat for a long moment, completely stunned. Then, finally forcing himself to move again, Tenebris set the jar between then and removed the lid and, with shaking hands, reached inside and removed the small monster from within.

As soon as he fully removed the little one from the fluid in the jar his body twitched; small, bony hands clenched into fists, and face scrunched up in displeasure as he began to whimper and then cry.

All at once, Tenebris was struck with the horrifying realization that had never even held a baby in his life, let alone cared for one at all. And now he had one.

Oh stars, he had a child now and had absolutely no idea what the hell he was even supposed to be doing!

A warm hand in his shoulder brought him back out of his thoughts and made him jump slightly. Looking up, he saw Grillby holding out the blanket to him and without a word Tenebris took it, loosely wrapping it around the small monster.

Stars above, he was so small! His whole body fit easily in just Tenebris’ hands, and the overly large blanket made him appear smaller.

Small, fragile, weak, and, like Tenebris had feared, he could still detect that constant, sharp ache through his bond with the child that he had felt from him over the course of the past two months.

And yet... And yet he was still alive. Despite everything he had assumed, he was still alive.

“Wingdings?” Grillby’s voice grounded him once again. “You okay?”

Tenebris looked up, realizing only then that his vision had begun to blur with tears. “He’s....he’s alive.” He choked out something like a laugh that quickly became painful, shuddering sobs as he hugged the bundled up infant close to him. “He’s still alive!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ((Happy birthday, jar baby!))
> 
> ((kinda bummed my computer is still busted because I kinda wanted to be able to draw something for at least this part of the story. Oh well!))


	32. Chapter 32

He hadn’t wanted to do it, he had been holding out hope in case it turned out to be unnecessary after all. But after having watched the Stat Monitor for hours straight only to see the readings steadily declining, he’d had no other choice.

Now he winced, both internally and externally, as he wrapped gauze around the wailing child’s painful humerus to keep the newly inserted tubing in place. It would be good enough for now while he was still so small but eventually, when he’d grown more, he would replace it with something more secure and permanent.

“I’m sorry, little one. I know it hurts. ” He murmured, gently lifting him into his arms once more as he trained his eyes on the Monitor again, watching the readings slowly continue to stabilize. “I’m sorry. But you’ll be okay now. Shhhh...”

The whirlwind of physical and emotional feelings he felt through their bond was overwhelming and told him that the crying was not going to subside anytime soon and, for now, there didn’t seem to be any hope of soothing the child. Not that he blamed him, wincing again as he eyed the modified drill and other tools that had done the job, and remembering his own number of self-tested “injections” as well.

Good lord he felt terrible for having to do this to him.

“Grillby,” he turned to his brother, nodding to the baby in his arms, “could you maybe...take him for a bit? I, uh... I don’t think he wants me anymore right now...”

Grillby gave a sympathetic smile and took him, careful not to jostle the still-sensitive arm too much. “He’s not mad at you. He just doesn’t understand what’s happening. He’ll feel better soon, I’m sure. Especially once he finally gets to sleep.”

“Right... You’re right. I just...” He trailed off with a long yawn. “Sorry...”

“I think you should get some sleep too. It was a long night for everyone and you definitely need it.”

“I’m fine. I should keep and eye on his readings for a bit longer....make sure everything’s fine...” He yawned again and was met with a stern look from his brother.

“You’ve been up all night, Dings. It’s past noon now for, goodness sake! Seriously, you should just-“

“Wait,” Tenebris sat upright, “Noon?! I was supposed to be at the lab hours ago! Or...a meeting? Damn it I can’t remember but I need to-“

He tried to jump up from the sofa but was stopped by both Grillby’s firm grasp on his arm and sudden lightheadedness that caused the room to spin around him. “Oookay....maybe... I need to stay home for today. Maybe tomorrow too.”

“Damn right, genius.” Grillby frowned at him. “I swear, sometimes I think I need to literally tie you down to make you get enough sleep. And that’s under normal circumstances!”

Tenebris sank back into the sofa, a tired groan escaping him as he felt the exhaustion beginning to finally take hold. “Well....you know I’ve never been good at taking care of myself.”

“And that’s what I’m here for, right?”

“Heh...right.”

He found himself frowning then. He really was terrible at taking care of himself. How on earth was he going to properly take care of a child of his own now?

“Stop it.” Grillby took one of his hands, interrupting his thoughts. “I think I know what you’re thinking right now so stop. You will be a great dad, Dings. I know it.”

“How do you know? I haven’t even done anything yet.”

“You have though! You brought him home. You gave him a chance. And now he’ll be able to live and have a good life. That may not have happened if you hadn’t done that.”

Grillby reached over the side of the couch and grabbed a spare blanket, using his free arm to drape it over Tenebris. “Now get some sleep. I’ll get this little guy something to wear. I mean, I know skeletons aren’t as sensitive to temperature as other monsters but I’m sure it’ll-“

“Oh no.” Tenebris shot upright once again, his guilt from that night returning with a vengeance. “We don’t have anything for him. I never got any clothes or a crib or anything! Damn it!”

“Welllll....actually,” Grillby scratched the back of his neck and smirked, “Last week...I may have went ahead and gotten a couple things. Just just some blankets and an outfit or two. Though clearly they’re going to be way too big on him. We can worry about anything else later.”

“Oh stars, and names! I never even thought of names for him!”

“We can worry about that later too.”

“....I’m a terrible father...”

“You’re an overworked, overthinking, ball of nerves, not a terrible father. Everything’s going to be okay. Trust me. Now please just get some sleep!”

Tenebris was too worn out to argue any further. He flopped back down on the sofa with a sigh, pulling the blanket up over his head.

He trusted his brother. He just didn’t know if he trusted himself.

* * *

_[[ AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You have an amazing kid and a borne survivor who deserves all the cuddles! What will you do now? have you thought of a name?  
Will you 2 ever get enough sleep? ]]_

Grillby smiled at the text on the screen. “I said it before and I was right, this is a tough little monster right here.”

He finished buttoning up the much too large onesie on the still fussing child and picked him up again, sparks of joy flying off of him as the little one nuzzled up against him.

“There isn’t a lot to do at the moment except let everyone get some much needed rest,” he addressed the communication bot again, “I had a short rest earlier so I’ll be fine for now. I just want to make sure Dings and the baby do too. And I know Dings didn’t think of any names....but I had a few ideas so I’ll run those by him later on once things have settled down. Maybe tomorrow.

Oh, and don’t you worry,” He pressed a kiss to the top of the infants skull, “I plan to cuddle the hell out of this new nephew of mine!”


	33. Chapter 33

**[[**   _Dr Wing Dings Gaster Royal scientist for the kingdom of monsters, you have brought light to the underground, providing a healthy modern life for all monsters in a cave made to be a prison, you built an inter-universal communication device out of trash and have reshaped the world to match your best predictions! You are an amazing man that can do anything, I know you will make an amazing dad!!!_ **]]**

* * *

 

**W.D:** *looks at the ground, almost bashfully, scratching the back of his skull* I can’t take all the credit for that, really. I have a whole team helping me with many of the things that have been done over the past few decades so...

Well...anyway. Thank you. I will try my best. 


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ((Gosh dang I have had the worst sinus infection head cold illness things this past week so I apologize for the possible crumminess of this chapter :P))

After the initial chaos of the first day, it was almost a relief to Tenebris that the child seemed to just be content to sleep most of the time.

However, well into the evening of the second day, with the child having only woken or fussed briefly a handful of times, he was fairly certain this wasn’t exactly a positive trait.

He’d established a routine for administering the life-sustaining medication and had kept his stats stable thus far, but they hadn’t risen above the point they had started at which only concerned him more as time went on.

Perhaps the stabilization solution needed to be altered. Maybe it wasn’t potent enough now that he had manifested a body. He wasn’t too keen on testing that out though. At least not while he was still so young. It had kept him alive so far, tempting fate by changing it to force a better outcome when there may not be one didn’t seem wise. After all, maybe it would correct itself with time, once he’d grown.

Had it not been for the fact that the child seemed capable of clinging onto the fabric of his sweater whenever he held him or grasping his or Grillby’s fingers whenever placed in his small hands, all while in his sleep, or the faint yet persistent life he felt through their bond, he would have been fearing the worst. If he was aware and alert enough to do all of that maybe it wasn’t as bad as his mind was making it out to be.

Sighing, he set the monitor on the nightstand and looked down at the child in his arms. It still seemed so surreal to him. Like it was just a dream or hallucination or something.

The mattress creaked and he looked up to see that Grillby had joined him, seated opposite him at the other end of the bed. “How’s he doing?”

“Fine. I think so, anyway. I mean, nothing’s changed so... I’m just worried.”

“I know. I get it.” Grillby placed a warm hand on one of his own. “But you’ve done all you can for now. So...he’s fine.”

“Right. He’s...he’s fine.”

There was a heavy silence for a while before Grillby spoke up again.

“So... Names. Thought of any yet?”

Tenebris fought back a grimace, his hold on the child tightening involuntarily.

He hadn’t. In truth he had been avoiding thinking about names at all. He had been distancing himself from this child for the past two months of his existence to selfishly protect himself, and even though he no longer wanted to, he still felt himself being guarded.

Naming him...that was something big. Something that made this very....real. It was already real, obviously, but naming him felt...more so.

His brother seemed to pick up on his silence and, mercifully, continued without waiting for him to respond.

“I know you’ve been dealing with a lot lately. Work, of course, and now this. So I figured I’d help you out with some ideas, if you don’t mind that is.”

He hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

Grillby smiled. “Alright. So, I was thinking.... Since your name, or one of them anyway, is apparently based on a typing font....”

He handed over several sheets of paper, covered in words. “I did some looking around and I found a load of other fonts. I remembered you mentioned once before that it could be a clever way for coming up with names. I know you probably weren’t thinking about naming your own kid, but still I thought it could be worth trying some of them out.”

Tenebris looked over the papers, several of the “names” already catching his eye, despite his own inhibitions. “That’s...a really good idea actually.”

“Thought you might say that. Hey, maybe it could become a family thing. You know, maybe he’ll name his own kids after fonts one day?”

“....Grillby. I just became a father and I’m trying very hard to process that, so bringing up becoming a grandparent is really not helping me do that right now.”

“Okay okay. Just sayin’... It’d be pretty neat if he did though-”

Tenebris groaned and turned his attention back to the papers. “...Did you hand copy all of these?”

“Yeah. Well, not the way they look, a lot of them look the same anyway. Basically any that seemed more name-like than the rest that weren’t necessarily typical names to begin with. They apparently have different categories for each type so I kept them grouped the same way too. Not sure it matters. Just figured I might as well keep somewhat organized.”

“Hmm...” He nodded, though he was barely listening anymore, poring over the extensive list now.

Aldus, Calisto, Garamond, Arial, Calibri, Avenir, Corbel, Eras....

Any of them could be a name. But could they be _his_ name?

Yes, he was still apprehensive about the whole thing, but he wasn’t going to be careless about it either. That just wouldn’t be fair.

After reaching the last page he went back to the beginning to go over it again.

“It doesn’t have to be a font, Dings.” Grillby said. “If nothing there fits we can figure out-“

“Wait.” Tenebris set the papers down, pointing to the header of one of the categories. “What about...this? I mean...it’s not a specific font so much as a group name for them but, I don’t know, it seems to have a nice ring to it.”

Grillby looked at where he pointed. “Sans Serif?” He looked thoughtful for a moment. “Hmm... Yeah. Yeah, it does. Definitely unique too.”

“Sans Serif Gaster. Yes, I think that just might be perfect for him.” Tenebris looked down and lightly stroked the sleeping baby’s skull. “Hello there, Sans.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ((Idk how much more “New Baby” exposition-like chapters like this there will be (mainly depends on if I get asks and what I have time to write really :P) so I hope they’re entertaining ^_^ feel free to drop a question for the family in the comments or into the ask box on the Tumblr blog :D ))


	35. Chapter 35

**[[** _I just want you to know that I beleive in you, get some sleep and maybe then you will be able to notice how successful you will be. I know it's way too early, but I'm curious, at what age do monsters begin to use different types of magic like bullets, healing, speed and strength boosts or anything?_ **]]**

**W.D:** It really depends on the individual. The typical age where one may begin to harness control of any outward magical abilities, like those you mentioned, tends to be anywhere between the ages of 8 and 10. Of course there are “late bloomers” and even those without any sort of outward abilities at all, neither of which is uncommon.

* * *

 

**[[** _Yay! Your kid is no longer Sans a name, I have a feeling he will be quite the Comic like Grillby and FONTastic at science like his daddy._ **]]**

**G:** .....I can’t believe they thought of all those jokes before I had a chance to.

**W.D:** Don’t pretend you’re not going to use those to death just like every other joke you’ve ever told.

**G:** Hmph... You used to think I was funny.

**W.D:** I still do! Just not when you’re using the same punchlines you’ve used with me a billion times before!!

**G:** Hey, don’t get all fired up-

**W.D:** Don’t-

**G:** -that’s my job.

**W.D:** ....

**G:** ....

**W.D:** I hope you’re proud of yourself.

**G:** Well, considering I may or may not do this to you for my own enjoyment, yes. Yes, I am.

**W.D:** * _siiigh_ *

* * *

 

**[[** _Sorry if this is too early or like I'm pushing anything, you cross the bridge when you come to it, but have you got any ideas on how you'd like to raise him, things you'd like to teach him about morality or science, ways to keep him safe or anything?_ **]]**

**W.D:** ....That’s quiet a.... broad question. I’m not sure I have any sort of answer for that...

* * *

 

**[[** _Now he has a body will he be staying out in the living area, or in a cot or box near your bed so you can reach him quicker?_ **]]**

**W.D:** Well, during the night when we’re all sleeping he’ll likely just be in bed with me. Most monsters do this while their children are still very young for both closeness and convenience.

If, for some reason, I have to be away at night and leave him home with Grillby then we’ll have him sleep in a crib, once we’re able to get one.

As for all other times of the day, he’ll be with me whether I’m working or not. Not only because I need to monitor him closely and administer his medication, but because it would raise questions otherwise...

As I’ve explained before, until they are a year old, infant monsters are only able to “feed” on their parents’ mana energy so parents keep their children with them practically at all times until at least the first year is up.

Even though Sans is different and has to be taken care of differently, and technically anyone could do in my place, it would appear suspicious and....I don’t intend to let anyone else know the whole truth about him. Not yet anyway. So I don’t want anyone suspecting something is off and asking questions.

I’ll admit, I even briefly contemplated keeping him hidden away completely. But that’s just not realistic and it wouldn’t be fair to him even if I could pull it off.

So, starting tomorrow, he’ll be coming with me to work....and I’m hoping it all goes smoothly.


End file.
